cathay

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: Ca=thay

CIDE DICTIONARY

cathay, n. 

 China; -- an old name for the Celestial Empire, said have been introduced by Marco Polo and to be a corruption of the Tartar name for North China (Khitai, the country of the Khitans.)  [1913 Webster]
"Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

cathay, n. archaic or poet. the country China.

Etymology

med.L Cataya